The Communion Duty
Methodism's Consistency Problem
Sunday, October 2nd, 2022 was World Communion Sunday. This is a day where many churches around the world set aside time to participate in the Lord’s Supper, also commonly called Holy Communion or the Eucharist. Methodist churches of various stripes are usually faithful in participating in this broadly ecumenical holiday that has taken place since the 1930’s.
For some Methodists last Sunday was a normal “First Sunday.” Communion takes place in many Methodist churches once a month on the first Sunday of the month. For others, it was one of the few times a year they participate in Communion. And yet still for others it was a normal Sunday because their church, following in the footsteps of Methodism’s founders John and Charles Wesley, participates in Communion weekly.
Reading John Wesley’s sermon The Duty of Constant Communion should make any Methodist who does not take Communion as often as they can nervous. In the sermon, the Rev. Wesley exhorts the listeners to take Communion - and take it often. It is no doubt Wesley meant his followers should take Communion at least weekly. This was part of the instructions he delivered to the Methodists in America. Church historians note John and Charles Wesley themselves “communicated two or three times a week” and set the stage for reform in the Church of England that would result in weekly Communion in every parish.1 Before weekly Communion became normalized in Anglicanism, a practice that continues to this day, Methodists in England ran afoul of the ecclesiastical authorities by attending church outside their home parish and in parishes that were offering Communion.
Despite this history, most Methodist churches today do not participate in Holy Communion as often as Wesley instructed his followers. Most mainline Methodist churches celebrate the first Sunday of every month. Wesleyan and Nazarene churches require churches to serve Communion merely once a quarter. Free Methodists have no requirements.
The hard question must be asked: How have we drifted this far? It is becasue we have lost the “why” of why we participate in the first place.
What do Methodists believe about Communion?
“I know we don’t believe as much as the Catholics, but I know we believe more than the Baptists…” Rev. Dr. Bob Stamps recalls his grandmothers’ answer when he asked her what Methodists believe about Communion.2 While his recollection is humorous, her answer is about the understanding I had as a young convert in a Methodist church, and this frankly summarizes the prevailing pew understanding as well.
This contrasts to the prevalent commitment shared among nearly all Methodist and Wesleyan churches in their doctrines and disciplines (and that of Wesley himself). Methodists believe Holy Communion is a sacrament. What is a sacrament?
A sacrament is a means of grace. This simply means it is the standard way, established by Jesus Christ, that God conveys His grace to us in a tangible way through the power of the Holy Spirit. It is not the only way, but it is normative so we can know with sure confidence, when we come to the table with repentant hearts, Christ Himself will meet us there. It is true, there is a degree of mystery about how this exactly happens. But just like we are saved by grace through faith, we come to the table and participate by faith with thanksgiving, trusting in Christ and His righteousness.
“How he did these creatures raise
And make this bread and wine
Organs to convey his grace
To this poor soul of mine,
I cannot the way descry,
Need not know the mystery,
Only this I know, that I
Was blind, but now I see.”
Hymn 59, Wesley’s Hymns on the Lord’s Supper (1745)
In case you doubt whether there is true power in the sacrament, look no further than Paul’s clear words in 1 Corinthians 10:
“The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?” - 1 Corinthians 10:16-17 (ESV)
Now consider his clear warning following this in 1 Corinthians 11, “…anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself.” He cautions, “That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died.” Weak, ill, and dying? Paul’s exhortation should cause us pause as we remember the importance of confession, both personally and as part of the Eucharistic liturgy. From Paul’s words, it is obvious that we are coming into contact with Jesus’ very presence - holiness incarnate. Fear not, however, as believers in the One who conquered death, we know the inverse is also true: the same power heals us and makes us holy. His power transforms us into who God intended us to be all along. If that power is present in the Eucharist we must attend - nay, flee - to the table of Christ!
Methodist theologians at the Next Methodism Summit described that power like this:
“In Holy Communion the crucified and risen Christ is present with us as our gracious host. The grace poured out in this encounter convicts, heals, and sanctifies the Church as we cooperate with the Holy Spirit who transforms us in holiness going on to Christian perfection. In Holy Communion we remember the mighty acts of God in Jesus Christ and his sacrifice for our sins on the cross. However, this is more than an intellectual exercise. We believe that through the power of the Holy Spirit, Christ’s sacrifice becomes present with us, “...not done and gone many years since, but, as to expiating grace and mercy, still lasting, still new, still the same that it was when it was first offered to us” (Wesley, Preface, Hymns on the Lord’s Supper). In Holy Communion the physical bread and cup, and those physically gathered, are infused with the living presence of Christ. His body and blood in this sacrament nourish our very bodies and souls. The broken body of Christ heals our brokenness, enabling us to live out our Baptismal calling.”
The Faith Once Delivered ¶172-173
Rope of Sand
Rev. George Whitefield was an Anglican cleric and successful Methodist revival preacher who labored alongside the Wesley’s. On his deathbed he commented that, because of John Wesley’s intentional discipleship system of societies, class meetings, band meetings, and regular church attendance (featuring the regular partaking in Holy Communion), the Wesley’s converts would preserve while his own would wither away like “a rope of sand.” He said this to mean that while his revivals and preaching were successful (arguably more so than Wesley’s), it was Wesley’s emphasis on entire conversion and the method he prescribed for it that would prevail in the long run.
“My brother Wesley acted wisely. The souls that were awakened under his ministry he joined in societies, and thus preserved the fruit of his labor. This I neglected, and my people are a rope of sand.” - George Whitefield3
Contemporary Methodism’s de-emphasis of Holy Communion shows how we have attached ourselves to ropes of sand of our own. We have decided somewhere along the way the things that make us Methodists, our time-tested grace-filled methods, are no longer needed to guide us as we purse Christ. This isn’t an admonition against every Methodist church everywhere. There are stellar churches doing great things with small groups, bands, and constant Communion that are amazing, and praise God for them. But we have to admit this is not the normative experience for Methodists.
Wesley prescribed constant Holy Communion because of how deeply transformative it is for those pursuing holiness. Most Christians worldwide attend churches that commonly recognize something is deeply transformative about Communion and so participate weekly. We have to recognize as a tradition that claims to stand within the Church catholic and in the tradition of the Apostle’s that we are no longer very catholic or apostolic about Communion.
We have to ask the serious question: do we truly believe what our doctrine says about Holy Communion? If yes, then we are doing a disservice to the Body of Christ, our congregations, and harming ourselves by not offering it regularly. If no, then we need to own it and change our doctrine.
Implications for the Ordained
If the answer is yes - Methodists are people who seek the grace of God in the sacraments - then we need to remember what it means to be ordained as well. When John Wesley sent his instructions for the people called Methodists in America, a light revision of the Book of Common Prayer called The Sunday Service of the Methodists in North America; With Other Occasional Services, he only changed the names of the office of Presbyter/Priest to Elder, he did not change the function. The Elder is to be a minister of “Word and Sacrament.”
The question asked at the ordination of an Elder in most Methodist churches is something such as: “Will you then give your faithful diligence, always so to minister the doctrine and sacraments, and the discipline of Christ, as the Lord hath commanded?”
Let’s imagine one Sunday the pastor comes in and collected all the bibles from the pews, confiscated personal bibles, removed the lectern bible, and announced, “From now on, the word will only be preached and doctrine exhorted on the Second Sunday of the month.” Can you imagine the outcry? Rightly so, we had a Reformation over this! We do not gatekeep the word of God! Hearing the word faithfully preached and searching the Scriptures are means of grace we would never deny anyone as proper Methodists!
“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.”
- James 1:22 (ESV)
But if we reflect on our doctrines and beliefs concerning Communion, it tells a different story not too dissimilar to the fictitious bible-hoarding pastor. Contemporary Methodist churches, by and large, gatekeep His table by not offering the sacrament every Lord’s Day. We have ignored St. James’ warning by being predominately hearers. Maybe it is because of our Western culture shaping our values we have chosen this emphasis. Maybe not. But consider this: Christ walked the Earth. Jesus is not only heard as some invisible parable-telling audible voice in the clouds, He is incarnate. He experienced the full breadth of human life. By only hearing and not tasting and seeing, not constantly participating in the means He has made Himself so readily available to bless us in, we are denying ourselves and our congregations a means of grace. We are denying healing to the broken, the nourishment of God’s goodness to the troubled soul, conviction to the sinner, and a foretaste of the Marriage Supper of the Lamb to all. If this is only half true, Lord, have mercy upon us.
“The case is this: God offers you one of the greatest mercies on this side heaven, and commands you to accept it. Why do not you accept this mercy?”
John Wesley, The Duty of Constant Communion
Where do we begin? Simply with constant Communion. Dust off the Disciplines, Hymnals, Rituals, and Books of Common Prayer and meet the Lord at His table. Stay tuned as we explore this topic further in the coming weeks, beginning with walking through the objections to constant Communion.
"Communion, frequency of." The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. Eds. Cross, F. L., and E. A. Livingstone: Oxford University Press, Oxford Reference.
The Meaning of Communion: Robert Stamps, Seven Minute Seminary, YouTube.
Henderson, D. Michael. John Wesley’s Class Meeting: A Model for Making Disciples. Nappanee, IN: Evangel Pub. House, 1997. 30.